2013 CVC BASEBALL: Notre Dame trying to make new pieces fit

LAWRENCE — This season opens a new chapter in Notre Dame High baseball.

The Irish still figure to be solid, but their lineup, top to bottom, will not be as familiar.

ND went 19-5 last season before sending its marquee pitching staff of Mark Maksimow, Ryan McGowan, Mike Young, Gavin Springer, Matt Herbert and Joe Warren off to college along with nine other players. That 15-player change will create plenty of room for the next generation of players to step up and make names for themselves.

“Last year, 17 of our wins came from senior pitchers,” 13th year head coach Joe Drulis said. “We are trying to find the right pitchers for our rotation, but we’ve also got to replace seven position players.”

The mainstay through all the change is senior shortstop/third baseman Don Walsh. As a junior, Walsh was among the Colonial Valley Conference’s leading hitters, batting at a .424 clip with 28 hits in 66 at-bats. He also hit two home runs and drove in 28 runs.

As far as the new pitching staff is concerned, only three returnees had decisions with Walsh, who does not figure to pitch this season, being one of them.

Senior right-hander Brandon Connaughton will be one of the leading pitching candidates, while a quartet of senior southpaws — Enzo Esposito, Mike Scarengelli, Rich Brown and Matt Camera — could also be trouble for opposing batters. Stephen Brown and Roger Finley, two other senior right-handers, are also in contention.

There are also plenty of underclass arm options from which Drulis and his staff can choose. There are juniors Jamie Galazin, Austin O’Donnell and Brian Tuohy. There are sophomores Craig Monahan, Mike Cackowski, Tyler Galazin,Chris Kline,Jonathan Lugo, Mike Milazzo, Evan Pié and Sean Smith.

Senior Jeremy Keegan moves from the outfield behind the plate, where he and classmate Marco Scozzari figure to handle the bulk of the duty. Seniors Matt Keeney, Conor Peyton and Anthony Zimmerman are among the outfield candidates. Junior Connor Lafferty can play first base or the outfield. Junior Joe Cuomo can play third base or catcher. Sophomore Mark Higgins is an infield option, along with classmate Adam Kaczorowski, who could also be used in the outfield.

“We need to find the right pieces. We need to keep improving,” Drulis said.